Patents Court dismisses jurisdiction challenge in cannabinoid patent licence dispute (Otsuka v GW Pharma)

Table of contents

• What are the practical implications of this case?
• What was the background?
• What did the court decide?
• Case details

Article summary

IP analysis: This was an interim application by GW Pharma challenging the jurisdiction of the UK court to hear a dispute about a patent licence in circumstances where the licensee has indicated it will challenge the validity of the licensed patents granted outside the UK. The court dismissed the application and ruled that GW’s intended challenge to a foreign patent was not direct and the Moçambique rule was not engaged because GW’s principal defence would be that the product in dispute was GW’s own later-conceived invention that was outside the terms of the licence. This decision is of interest because it clarifies that not every case in which a party raises an argument about patent validity of foreign patents should necessarily cause the UK court to decline jurisdiction. Written by Sarah Taylor, senior practice development lawyer at Pinsent Masons LLP.